Aston Villa put the disappointment of their derby defeat to Wolves behind them with a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
Villa took the lead in the 23rd minute when John Terry powered home his firs goal for the club after Hourihane had swung in a teasing delivery from a free-kick.
It looked like Villa would be going into the break one goal to the good, but Glenn Whelan conceded a foul on the edge of the box, and Stefan Johansen found the bottom corner.
Fulham weren’t level for long though as a Jonathan Kodjia miss-kick fell nicely for Albert Adomah to slot in his fifth goal of the season.
Fulham could have left Villa Park with a point, but Johnstone produced a fine save to deny Floyd Ayite, and, by doing so, ensured that Villa moved up to fifth in the table.
Below are our player ratings for today’s match against Fulham:
GK: Sam Johnstone - 7.5
Pulled off a fantastic save in the second-half to keep Villa’s lead intact.
RM: Ahmed Elmohamady - 6.5
Didn’t get forward much, but he stuck to his defensive duties throughout.
CB: James Chester - 7 .5
Led by example today and didn’t let any of the opposition get the better of him.
CB: John Terry - 7.5
Scored his first Villa goal with a bullet header and looked solid and assured throughout.
LB: Alan Hutton - 7
Put in a solid performance as usual and never gave an inch against a decent Fulham attack.
RM: Robert Snodgrass - 7
Provided a number of teasing crosses throughout the game and caused Fulham’s defence a number of problems.
CM: Glenn Whelan - 5.5
Was at fault for Fulham’s leveler, but made up for it slightly by being part of the move that led to Villa’s winner.
CM: Conor Hourihane - 7.5
Was lively throughout and got stuck in a lot more than what he usually does. Provided the assist for Villa’s opener.
CM: Josh Onomah - 8.5
This was his first start in 6 matches and he completely ran the show. He won very important challenges, had composure in key areas, and looked to get forward as often as he could.
LM: Albert Adomah - 8
Scored yet another goal and looked dangerous every time he ventured forward.
ST: Jonathan Kodjia - 6.5
Getting back to his old-self, but there is still some improvement needed. Was denied a goal by a fine save.